Friday, 29 March 2013

This serum has been heavily advertised in various fashion, health, and beauty magazines and there has been many good reviews on it where it has been claimed to reduce dark-spot intensity in as little as two weeks.

Dark spots/pigmentation has been a major skincare issue of mine for a while now so I was super excited to get on to using this product.

Unfortunately, this serum did not live up to it's high standards. After using a whole bottle, I was quite disappointed as I didn't see any changes in my skin whatsoever; it did not brighten my skin tone, it did not reduce the intensity of my pigmentation/sun spots, and it did not even out my skin tone. With that being said, I made sure that I followed a good skincare regime whilst using it so that I could maximise the efficacy of the serum. This included proper exfoliation (at least once-twice a week with an AHA peel/scrub as this encourages skin cell turnover and better absorption of the product) and sunscreen with SPF30+ UVA & UVB protection (to protect the skin and prevent further sun damage).

Maybe I'm just in the minority group but this serum did not work for me.

SMOKEY EYES ON A BUDGET

Using

TUTORIAL

2. Once the eyeshadow primer has absorbed, colour the Rimmel black eyeliner all over the eyelids (place the eyeliner higher for a more dramatic look).

3. Using a clean smudger/dense brush, blend the black eyeliner out.

4. Using Inglot's Bone colour eyeshadow on a fluffy blending brush, sweep the brush back and forth to blend out and soften the black eyeliner even more.

5. Using the Rimmel Black eyeliner again, line the bottom waterline (you can go all the way in or line just a bit more than half way like I have done here).

6. Using a cotton tip, sweep back and forth to soften the black eyeliner out.

7. Using a black gel liner, line the top of the eye to your liking.

8. Using the Napoleon white eyeliner pencil, line the inner corners of the eye.

9. Blend out the white eyeliner using a clean angled brush.

10. Go over the top lid eyeliner with black liquid liner.

11. Apply fake lashes.

12. Apply mascara to the top and bottom lashes.

Finished look

Here I've used Topshop lipstick in Macaron.

I found this look very wearable and simple to achieve. The only problem was that the eyeshadow started to crease within an hour (even when I used an eyeshadow primer) as creamy eyeliners generally aren't a good eyeshadow base. So instead of using a black eyeliner, you could use a matte black eyeshadow. The eyeshadow should hold better that way.

Saturday, 16 March 2013

When people think of Shiseido, they usually think of a high end Japanese skincare brand. Lets face it; Shiseido is known for their skincare rather than their makeup. In this post, I'll be reviewing a few of their makeup products.

Perfect Foundation Brush

$49 AUD

- The short handle makes it easy to control

- Can even be used for concealer because the brush head is quite small

- High definition brush that gives an almost airbrushed look

- Really good for getting right into those nooks and crannies around the face (e.g. sides of nose/curved areas)

- Suitable for travel

- Blends in foundation really well (almost like a tiny angled kabuki brush)

- Can take a long time to blend in your foundation if you're just using this brush. I suggest using a larger foundation/fingers first, then the Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush at the end to blend in any streaks

Perfect Rouge Lipstick BE208 and RD514$38 AUD

- Moisturising

- Pigmented

- Can build up from a sheer finish to a full finish

Perfect Rouge Glowing Matte Lipstick PK224$38 AUD

- Drying on the lips

- Colour payoff isn't very good (you have to use a lot of the product to get good pigment)

Luminizing Lipgloss PK303

$38 AUD

- Moisturising

- Non-sticky smooth lipgloss

- The brush applicator makes it easy to apply

Lacquer Rouge RD203

$38 AUD

- Pigmented

- Non-drying and creamy texture

- Almost like a gloss/lipstick

Luminizing Satin Face Colour

$60 AUD

- A nice glitter free highlighter (which is difficult to find)

- Natural looking

- Silky pearly white finish (not too matte/cakey)

- Doesn't contain glitter/sparkles like most other highlighters

- A good highlighter if you have an oily T-zone, oily skin, or have fine lines/wrinkles you don't want to enhance (as shiny highlighters will enhance lines/wrinkles)

Overall, Shiseido's makeup is quite pricey for what you're getting. Some of their makeup is definitely worth buying such as their eyebrow pencil, eyelash curler, and Perfect Foundation brush. But the rest of their makeup is so-so or even below average. If you're willing to spend that much money on a make up product, I suggest you go for a more specialised make up brand such as Nars, Stila, Bobbi Brown etc - Same price range but better quality make up (in terms of pigments, packaging, and more variety of colour). Shiseido = specialised skincare brand in my opinion.

Monday, 11 March 2013

FEBRUARY FAVOURITES

Molton Brown Vitalising Vitamin AB+C

Bath & Shower

Purchased from David Jones $39 AUD

The scent of this is very similar to their very famous Naran Ji hand wash and lotion (used in many 5-star hotels and restaurants). Just like the Naran ji, the smell is very citrus based and infused with the sweet smell of orange oil and grapefruit-seed extract - a very uplifting and luxurious aroma. This body wash is rich in vitamins A, B, and C so it strengthens, softens and re-energises the skin, mind and body. It's such a gentle cleanser and a little bit goes a long way as it foams up very easily. After cleansing with this, you'll find that the smell is very subtle but will last for hours. No wonder it got voted 2009 Allure Best of Beauty Awards and runner-up in the Australian 2012 Beauty Awards!

Molton Brown Ultrasmooth Coco de Mer

Bath & Shower

Purchased from David Jones $39 AUD

Molton Brown Ultrasmooth Coco de Mer

Body Lotion

Purchased from David Jones $39 AUD

I absolutely love the smell of the Coco de Mer - It has a light and refreshing scent of coconut fruit extract, honey and vanilla like scent. Just like all Molton brown shower gels and lotions, a little bit goes a long way. You'll find that the smallest amount will leave your skin feeling moisturised, soft and supple without that heavy feeling of having a thick lotion/gel on you. The smell is also very subtle but will last for hours.

Kate Goldish Eyes

Ebay.com $17.45 AUD

I'm a big fan of Kate eyeshadow palettes. I find them all very suitable for asian eyes as it has the ability to enhance asian eyes/deeply contour them by using a blend of different textured eyeshadows together (e.g. light/neutral colours, warm toned colours, deep monotone colours, soft sheen/shimmer colours). All Kate eyeshadow palettes contain colours that compliment each other very well which can be used for a subtle day look or heavier night time look. I particular love this gold palette as I find these colours can suit almost anyone.

Giorgio Armani High Precision Retouch

Purchased from David Jones $54 AUD

This is such a light weight concealer/brightener that provides very decent coverage and adds radiance to the skin. Although it doesn't give the heaviest coverage you can build it up without it settling into fine lines and looking cakey. I only use this for under the eyes or any dark areas I would want to brighten such as the sides of my nose/lips as it contains light reflecting pearls which diffuse light for radiant skin (so don't use this for pimples as it will draw light and attention to those areas). It did cover my dark circles and because of it's moisturising formula, it glides on smoothly without creasing throughout the day (just make sure you have a good base/eye cream underneath). The best thing about this is that the tiniest amount will go a long way. Ive been using the famous YSL touché éclat for years already and honestly, I think Giorgio Armani High Precision Retouch beats it as it doesn't just brighten but it gives coverage too.

Sigma Dry'n Shape

Purchased from Sigma.com $31 AUD

This is a great product for drying your brushes! One of the reasons I hate washing my brushes (apart from being lazy) is that when I wash them, they usually don't dry until 2 days time so I'm pretty much brushless for the next day or so which sucks because sometimes I need to use them to get ready for work, school or etc. So when I first bought this Sigma Dry n Shape, I was quite skeptical with whether it would dry my brushes within 4-6 hours (as they claimed it would). To my surprise, not only did it dry my brushes completely but it shaped my brushes perfectly back to their original shape. I only wish Sigma would come out with a dry n shape for the smaller sized eyeshadow brushes.